MADISON, Wis. – Rallying from a 2-1 deficit in the match, the second-ranked Wisconsin volleyball team could not overcome a feisty Pittsburgh team, falling in five sets in the NCAA Regional final on Saturday night. The No. 6 Panthers (31-3) edged the Badgers, 23-25, 25-21, 25-21, 19-25, 15-13.
Wisconsin (28-4) won nearly every statistical category, finishing with seven more kills, hitting .266 compared to .217, outblocking the Panthers 12-7, and recording a 92-88 edge in digs. Pitt had an 8-4 advantage in service aces, forcing UW out of its offense with its tough serving.
Five Badgers recorded double-figure kills behind a career-high 21 kills from junior Devyn Robinson. Redshirt sophomore Sarah Franklin added 15 kills while Anna Smrek (13), Danielle Hart (10) and Julia Orzol (10) all recorded double-figure kills. Robinson hit .439 (21-3-41) while Hart hit .435 (10-0-23).
Wisconsin hit .266 (74-21-199) and held Pitt to .217 (67-23-203). The Panthers were led by Courtney Buzzerio with 18 kills while Chiamaka Nwokolo and Valeria Vazquez Gomez added 12 and 11 kills, respectively.
The Badgers out-blocked Pitt 12 to 7 with Hart and Caroline Crawford leading all players with six stuffs. Smrek added four blocks.
Izzy Ashburn led Wisconsin in assists, recording 32 helpers, while MJ Hammil followed with 23 and Gulce Guctekin put up a career-high 14 assists.
Guctekin led all players with 24 digs for her second career double-double. Hammill (18 digs), Orzol (12), Ashburn (11) and Franklin (11) also picked up double-doubles in the match.
The Panthers also dominated the service line with a 8-4 ace advantage over the Badgers. Ashburn led the team with two perfect serves, followed by Guctekin and Hammil with one apiece.
The two teams split the first two sets with the Badgers coming back from a seven-point deficit to take the first set. Pittsburgh took a 2-1 lead in the match after claiming the third set but Wisconsin sent the match to a fifth set with a decisive win in the fourth period.
In the fifth set, the Badgers trailed by five points (11-6) before scoring six straight to take a 12-11 lead. Grad student Shanelle Bramschreiber served six points and Orzol had four kills to lead Wisconsin over the…
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